Meanwhile...The said Prince of Ashenmore just woke up to find himself in a very dark pit. The only light came from the hole above from which he fell into. He was terribly scared. The place smelled like damp soil and it was so cold he could feel it in his bones. To top it all, the poor Prince was hungry and his stomach was crying loudly. Suddenly, he heard someone scoff. "You humans are so weak. You've slept for two whole days. Do you know that?" Ron was frightened. The voice sounded sharp and crisp. "W-Who are you? Why can't I see you?" The Prince heard the snapping of fingers and the dark pit became illuminated by pearls. Countless pearls were inside the walls of the pit, emitting a silvery glow. With the light, came the figure of the person that talked. Ron was shocked to see a transparent looking man in white robes staring at him. The man looked quite young, like he was in his late twenties. His silver hair was gelled back and his eyes were violet, like the King's. But there w
The death of his brother and first son? Ron wondered. Could that be Zedekiel's father and brother? The ones Queen mother told him about?"I was not a traitor, Ron" Kayziel continued. "I never betrayed my own people. I only wanted peace but those filthy Ashenmores used me. They tricked me and successfully trapped my brother, his son, and all the guards that escorted them"His voice was now filled with so much anger and resentment that Ron couldn't help but shiver in fear. He unconsciously moved away from the Elf spirit. "We were supposed to be at peace. My brother trusted me to take care of all the proceedings. The King of Ashenmore, King Rafael, had signed on the treaty and taken an oath of peace between our species but little did I know that they would betray us"Ron was shocked. King Rafael? That was his great great great grandfather! The fiercest King Ashenmore ever had. He had heard so much about his great great great grandfather but he never heard anything about him having a war
Kayziel smiled. "Not at all Your Majesty. You're misunderstanding me. I brought only one person to show my sincerity. We really want peace" Prince Ron decided at that point that he didn't like his great great great grandfather at all. Why bully his future husband's uncle?They continued their discussion and Ron saw that Kayziel was really good at negotiating. He had brought up a good plan that would benefit both parties. He spoke so eloquently and with such smartness that King Rafael was stunned. There were no loopholes or any chance for cheating. King Rafael couldn't help but agree. In no less than three hours, the treaty was signed by King Rafael as King Fayziel had already signed on it. When everything was done, King Rafael left without a word and Prince Kayziel was happy, There would be peace between his people and the humans now. No more suffering or bloodshed. Only peace. Some months later...Things were going fine. The Elves were rebuilding their villages and towns that got
"Oh no. What can we do now?"Zedekiel chanted a spell and lightening suddenly struck at Kayziel and Berthiel but they quickly dodged and burst into laughter. Angry, Zedekiel left. Berthiel saw that his brother was really angry so he went after him to placate him. Kayziel shook his head. Berthiel was so naughty. But who was this pretty boy with red hair and green eyes that has caught his stone faced nephew's heart? Ron didn't know but he was very jealous! How could his beloved like someone already? He even kissed him and claimed him as his wife! A servant walked into the garden and bowed before Kayziel. "Your Highness, there's a human asking for you at the palace gates. He said his name is Nathan"Ron felt Kayziel's heart skip a beat. He crumpled the letter he was writing and flew out of the garden, straight to the palace gates.Oh yes, the thing was, not all Elves could fly. Only those from the Royal Family. If you're an ordinary Elf, whether you reach the age of flying or even sur
And that what the biggest mistake of their lives.The King, Berthiel, 12 guards and Kayziel set off for the engagement after one week. Nathan left before then to give King Rafael the good news so they could prepeare for the arrival of the Elves.Zedekiel wanted to follow but King Fayziel made him stay so he could watch over his mother and the Kingdom while he was gone for Zedekiel was very reliable although he had the body of a 12 years old.Ron was quite happy. His beloved had a strong sense of responsibily since he was a kid. He knew that they would have no problems once they get married. He couldn't wait to make Zedekiel fall in love with him. He wanted to see how Zedekiel would treat his spouse. Maybe he was a hopeless romantic within.It took another week to travel to the Kingdom of Ashenmore and when they arrived, they were greeted warmly by King Rafael personally. He waited for them on his horse in front of the Kingdom gates to show his sincerity and welcomed them with music an
He could still remember the first time they met. How Zedekiel saved him from those goons and healed the little wound on his forehead. How handsome Zedekiel looked in robes as black as night and silver hair shimmering under the moonlight. Then those violet eyes that seemed like they were boring into his very soul.'Ah Zedekiel, when will this whole thing end so I can see you again?' he thought.At that point, the arrival of the people of the neighbouring Kingdom was announced and in trooped another set of finely dressed humans. From the crest of an eagle on their clothes, Ron already knew the Kingdom but he wasn't interested for he knew the history of his great great great grandfather Prince John getting engaged to Pincess Gabrielle of their neighbouring Kingdom.But wait. If he remembered his history books correctly, Prince John never got engaged to Princess Gabrielle. In fact, he never got engaged at all because he died in an accident and his younger brother, Prince Asher, who was ac
"I see" King Fayziel spoke for the first time. He sighed then patted King Rafael's shoulder in a friendly manner. "Our presence here has made your son unhappy. We will leave immediately"King Rafael started to panic. "But King Fayziel, I-"King Fayziel held up a hand and shook his head. "There's no hard feelings, King Rafael. I know you mean well. You have already shown us your sincerity. It isn't your fault if other people do not like us. I hope we can still maintain our current state of peace.Feeling less guilty by King Fayziel's words, King Rafael nodded. "Of course. I will never go back on my word"Prince John chuckled and shook his head. "And what makes you think you abominations can leave?"As if on cue, a large troop of guards filed into the hall and the large heavy double doors of the hall were pushed shut. They stood in front of the shut doors and unsheathed their swords, taking a fighting stance. Several other guards appeared by every window, holding an arrow and bow, ready
It then dawned on King Fayziel and Prince Kayziel. They looked at each other as the same word appeared in their minds.Iron!It was the only thing that was deadly to an Elf. When they are around it, they grow weak. Weaker than a old human. When it touches them, it burns their flesh and they can never heal from it.Now that it's inside them, they knew it. They were all going to die.Prince Berthiel, who was the youngest amongst all the elves was naturally weaker and had zero tolerance for iron so his body reacted quicker.Everyone watched in horror as he completely collapsed on the floor, writhing and moaning in pain, bleeding from his eyes, nose, ears and mouth. He kept clutching his throat, coughing and choking on his own blood. The sight was gory and downright frightening.King Fayziel could not watch his son in such agony. "You evil bastard!" he yelled with a wave of his hand.A sharp gust of wind blew towards Prince John and Nathan. It was like the sharp tip of a deadly arrow, sli
The urgency in the guard's voice echoed through the halls as they burst into the room, their breaths heavy with adrenaline. As the guard's words pierced the air, the throne room was engulfed in a sudden eruption of emotion. Gasps and murmurs swept through the gathered courtiers like a gust of wind. The Officials rose from their seats, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of concern and urgency. Servants scurried to relay the news throughout the castle.Zedekiel’s younger self, seated upon the throne, stood swiftly, a mixture of emotions flickering across his face: worry, relief and determination. “Is he alive?” he asked as the guards gently laid Prince Kayziel’s body on the floor. The body was motionless, skin wet, matted with blood and dirt.The current Zedekiel watched quietly for he could remember everything that had happened concerning his betrayer of an uncle. If he had known everything his uncle had planned, he would have made sure he died right on the floor.The air hummed w
In the end, he sighed and stood up. “Fine. You’re right. You’re your own person. I have no right to dictate what you should and not do. I don’t want you to ever feel like that’s what I’m doing. You’re my baby brother Ral, and you mean the world to me so I’m just trying to protect you. I’m sorry if I came off as a dictator. You don’t have to come back with me. You can stay here and wait for him. I’ll figure out what to tell mum and dad.” Not expecting his headstrong brother to agree with him and even apologise, Ron was stunned. He stood up and gazed at his brother with a kind of look that was a mixture of shock and joy. “Really? You mean that?” “Of course.” Alaric nodded, smiling. “Would I ever lie to you?” Ron knew his brother always meant what he says and always kept his word so he broke into a large grin and engulfed his brother in a big hug. “Thank you thank you thank you thank you! Gosh brother you’re the best!” Zedekiel couldn’t help but smile at the entire scene. He was g
Older brother? Zedekiel was stunned. Alaric was Ron's older brother?Ron pouted cutely and turned his back to Alaric. "Go away. I don't want to talk to you.""Oh I'm not here to talk." Alaric said. He stomped forward and grabbed Ron by the back of his collar and yanked. "I'm here to drag your naughty ass back home."Alarmed, Ron scurried to his knees and stretched out his hands. "Maelda!"Maelda immediately responded, sending her vines out to Ron. He grabbed them and pulled himself back. "I'm not going home! Not now!"Alaric groaned still tugging on his collar. "Ugh, why do you have to be so stubborn?""Let go!" Ron shouted, holding on to the vines of the Mother Tree. "I'm not going home! Not until I see him!"Alaric huffed angrily; "Come on, Ral. We have to go back! Mum and dad are worried sick. You've been here since yesterday.""Go back and tell them to not worry." Ron said, hugging the tree tighter. "I'm fine, Alaric. I just need to see him."Zedekiel watched the entire exchange,
He gazed down at himself and realized he was in a ghost-like form, ethereal and weightless, allowing him to glide silently through the dimly lit space. It was at that moment his memories flooded back to him—Ron being taken, him trespassing into the Witches Coven and drinking Alaric's potion, a concoction meant to unveil his forgotten past. He gazed around once more, wondering, was this his past? When did this happen? Why was his room in such a mess?His ears caught a faint sound of crying. He immediately followed the sorrowful echoes and found himself floating before his bathroom. He raised a hand to turn the handle but his ghostlike form went through it. He then realised that he could not touch anything in his past. He was just meant to see what he had begged the Mother Tree to erase.On one hand, he was dreading what he would find in the bathroom and on the other, he was curious to know. He could rememberbhis Mother begging him to leave his past in the past and not try to remember.
To say Zedekiel was shocked from the information was an understatement. He was completely flabbergasted. He couldn't even bear to see Ron hurt in any way. How could he kill him with his own hands? What the hell was Alaric talking about?"You coward." Alaric grumbled, adding a few more ingredients to his pot. "I've been so mad about it for years now. I even had half the mind to curse you in an endless limbo of emotional torture. For you to find true love but never have it but then, you helped me with Talon so I decided not to interfere with your fate. Besides, cursing you would be like cursing Ron since his fate is intertwined with yours and I can't do that to him.""You talk like you knew him." Zedekiel said, still confused. He didn't understand a single thing. "What exactly are you trying to tell me? I can never hurt Ron. I love him.""Yet you ended his life with your own hands." Alaric said, adding his final ingredient to the pot. A drop of water from the lake of memories. The green
In the middle of the room sat a large black pot with thin white smoke emanating from it. The crow on Alaric's shoulder flew to it's small black cage while Alaric went to the pot, adding a few sprinkles of what seemed to be seeds. "So, how exactly am I supposed to help you?" He asked."I want you to find him." Zedekiel stated. "We have a feeling he might be at the Echoing Isle but we need you to confirm it."Alaric hummed, thinking about Zedekiel's request as he stirred the bubbling liquid in the pot. "By him, you mean your human lover right?" He didn't wait for Zedekiel to answer and continued; "I don't know why you're going through all this trouble for one tiny powerless human. I mean, you're the King of the Elves. An extremely powerful creature. Why not be with someone on your level? Someone worthy of you."Zedekiel's eyes blazed with fury especially after hearing the last sentence. The intensity of his anger seemed to fill the room with an electric charge. His jaw clenched tightly,
As Zedekiel dared to step further into the village, a booming voice reverberated through the forest, causing the very trees to tremble."Who dares to trespass into the witches' coven?"In response to the commanding voice, the witches emerged one by one, encircling the Elf Brothers with an ominous presence that sent chills down Ludiciel's spine.Zedekiel on the other hand, kept walking. As if he didn't see or hear anything."Hey! I'm talking to you!" The witch who had spoken earlier shouted at Zedekiel. "Stop! Come back here!""Brother don't leave me!" Prince Ludiciel exclaimed, running after Zedekiel."I said stop!" The witch shouted once more but it fell on deaf ears for Zedekiel just kept on walking. Furious, she commanded her fellow witches. "Stop him!"They sprung to action, wands in hands as they all moved to attack Zedekiel at the same time.Zedekiel, already seething with pent-up anger, unleashed a torrent of raw power that surged forth like a tidal wave, crashing into the witc
"Haven't you noticed? She's in love with him." Zedekiel said. "I think it all started the day he saved her during the feast but let's talk about this some other time. We have to find Ron."He was going crazy just by not having Ron by his side. In a way, he felt Mariel was right. It was due to his incompetence that Prince Ron was taken by Fredrick. He didn't protect him like he promised to. His heart hurt at the thought of what Prince Ron might be going through. Especially after the things Fredrick said to him the first time. If Frederick dared to hurt Ron in any way, he would give him the worst kind of death imaginable."What are we going to do?" Prince Ludiciel asked. "I have men combing through every inch of this Kingdom and the neighbouring ones. Should we wait for their feedback?"Zedekiel shook his head immediately. He was restless. "I can't wait that long. It has already been a day. If he was anywhere close, we would have found him by now. Fredrick knows that so he wouldn't keep
Memories flooded his mind like a torrential downpour, each one a bittersweet reminder of the happiness he had once known. He missed their conversations, filled with laughter and whispered confessions. He missed their kisses and intimate moments and he longed to see Zedekiel's smile, a radiant beacon of joy that never failed to brighten his darkest days. He missed Zedekiel with an ache that seemed to penetrate his very soul. Being away from him hurt so much that he wanted to cry. Tears brimmed in his eyes, threatening to fall but he bit his lip, sniffling, trying to hold them back. With each passing moment, the ache of separation grew more unbearable, and Prince Ron found himself yearning with every fiber of his being to be reunited with his beloved who had captured his heart completely. He never knew he could miss Zedekiel so much. It was at that moment that he realised the depth of his feelings for Zedekiel. He wished he had answered quickly back at the bridge. He wished he had po